1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to a switch for mounting to a printed circuit board which is configured as a dual inline package.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Switches configured as dual inline packages (DIP switches) are utilized within electronic equipment to change the configuration of the equipment. For example, DIP switches are typically found on items such as mother boards within computers or on expansion cards or auxiliary cards which mount within the computer. The switches allow easy changes in configuration in the system, for example, the configuration of a system can be varied to change the output location or printer or plotter model by merely changing the switch settings.
The DIP switches can either be installed and soldered directly to the printed circuit board or the switch can be inserted within a DIP socket similar to that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,296 to Kunkle, et al. which is soldered to the board. This latter practice enables a faulty switch to be replaced without the complexity of unsoldering the switch from the board.
Such a switch is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,391 to Olsson where the switch includes a plurality of leads extending outwardly from the body for interconnection to the printed circuit board. The fixed ends of the leads which extend into the housing are space apart a sufficient distance to prevent shorting therebetween. A spring metal slide is located between the two lead fixed ends and is moveable towards and away from, one of the lead fixed ends to connect and disconnect the two opposed leads.
One drawback to this switch design is that the cover is retained to the housing via an adhesive such as an epoxy. A drawback to epoxies in general is that they are difficult to maintain, that is the epoxies must be constantly monitored for proper combination of epoxy compounds, for the amount of air and contaminants in the epoxy, and the like. It is also difficult to control the epoxy in the process of manufacturing the assemblies, as the epoxies are quite fluid when first applied and tend to flow into the housing cavities. The epoxies must also be cured in an oven for approximately one hour which substantially increases the cycle time for each of the assemblies.